spare key

S

searching for nowhere

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Jan 24, 2014
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Western Washington
I'm leaving tomorrow for Montana, so this question is too late for this trip. But there is always the next trip. Where do people hide a spare key? Do magnets work? Cable tie it to something under the truck? Being in the middle of nowhere and losing a key is the one thing that bothers me the most. Please don't share the details of what you, but share the concept. thanks
 
my significant other makes sure I don't forget things.

if solo, yup magnetic hide a key box, duct tape or my trick - on a permanent wrist band so you can't forget it.
 
I carry a truck door key, a camper door key, and camper lock box key taped to a plastic card in my wallet.
Another lock box key hidden in camper.
I have a camper key tied to monofilament fishing line dropped down between camper and inside pickup box. Line is tacked to side of camper below top of bed side. Impossible to see unless you know where to look.
I have my spare ignition key fob in a lock box in the camper.

When carrying the key fob while camping I have a 12" fluorescent yellow ribbon attached to it. If dropped I at least have a chance to find it.

jim
 
Ya-another wallet guy here, always have a spare key(s) there! In addition, and I know i should not do it, but I have a spare keys stashed in various drawers, storage spaces and glove boxes in my rig and pop-up :cautious: Speaking of keys, one of my advises to any new pop-up owners is go buy some more keys-you never know! While I was still working and when I was with a crew, we used to put the key to the rig on top of one of the tires-that way, who ever got back to the rig first could get in, warm up, pick us up, or what ever, system worked good. For some reason, that I could never understand, the gov't gave only one key to each rig, with another one at the office. When you were issued your own full time rig, sometimes you got a duplicate made-that also went in the wallet!

Smoke
 
I always carry a spare key in my wallet. The new chipped keys don't fit there well, so I had an unchipped key cut. It can't start the truck, but it will unlock the doors. I have a chipped key in a magnetic container, but it's hidden in such a way that you can't get it unless you unlock the door.
 
I'm not a big fan of hiding keys on the exterior of the vehicle. Everyone hides keys in the same places and for the most part, there are only a few places to hide one.

I keep my key(s) on a Nite Ize mini carabiner attached to a loop in my cargo pocket or daypack.. I you have one of those monster sized key fobs, attach it to the carabiner with a short piece of 550 chord.

Due to my military background, I'm not fond of carrying small, critical items (keys) freestyle. They must be securely attached to my clothes or some other major component not likely to be lost.
 
Ford trucks have the combination lock on the door. This makes for all types of hiding inside the truck options. Also very handy when you need to get something out of the truck and your keys are in the camper.
 
On this theme, has anyone replaced the deadbolt on their camper with a combination lock? I am not talking about the 'rv' door lock, which we don't use but the residential deadbolt that FWC adds to the door.

We have electronic combination locks on our house and it is great to be able to go in/out without keys, but this also means I always forget to bring the camper key out to the driveway.

With a combination lock on the camper, you could also stash a car keys in the camper and go totally key free.
 
rando said:
On this theme, has anyone replaced the deadbolt on their camper with a combination lock? I am not talking about the 'rv' door lock, which we don't use but the residential deadbolt that FWC adds to the door.

We have electronic combination locks on our house and it is great to be able to go in/out without keys, but this also means I always forget to bring the camper key out to the driveway.

With a combination lock on the camper, you could also stash a car keys in the camper and go totally key free.
Click to expand...
Interesting idea. I presume they have a battery, so how much risk of battery failure?

Also, I think there is potential for an old geezer joke here, something about being clever to change to a combination lock and then forgetting the combination.
 
The ones we have at home give plenty of warning of a low battery, and they still have a mechanical key as a backup. But for a camper lithium batteries that do better in the cold might be wise.

The electronic locks tend to have a bulky unit on the inside of the door (for the batteries and servo) so I am not sure it they would fit with the screen door on the camper door.
 
Alvis said:
Ford trucks have the combination lock on the door. This makes for all types of hiding inside the truck options. Also very handy when you need to get something out of the truck and your keys are in the camper.
Click to expand...
Works great, until you blow the accessory fuse for the door keypad. I've seen it done.
 
Spares with traveling companion, valet set in camper, spare camper key and non transponder truck key gaffer taped in a hidden place.
 
Post Jack :( I just want to thank Karen a volunteer at Rocky Mountain Natl Pk. Last month I was traveling alone and stayed at the park and used shore power hookup. When packing in the morning I must have locked up the extension cable and dropped my camper keys. I did not even realize I had even lost them until I received an email from her that they found them. She asked to confirm my mailing address and she mailed them to my home. She must have gone out of her way to discover that I was the camper at the park and got my email from Parks database? I am very thankful for her help and effort. Also glad I had a spare set in my truck console. Spares are essential :)
 
I don't see that as a thread hijack, it's certainly related to what we are talking about.

I have a dog tag on my key ring. It reads:

REWARD IF FOUND
MY NAME
MY CELL PHONE #
MY EMAIL
@MY INTERNET PROVIDER

(dog tags can only take 16 characters per line which is why my email takes two lines.)

I will gladly slip someone $20 for returning keys that would cost me $50 or more to replace.

I will also add that every key on my ring has one of those brightly colored plastic covers on them - yellow, orange, etc. so they're easy to see if dropped.
 
On the Suburban that I took to Baja for the 2001 Baja 1000 I built a "screw-press" capable of holding a spare key set and used a wing-bolt as the screw. Keys were fully inserted into the slot so that the wing-bolt bore down on the "GM" impressed in the blanks.

That was then bolted to the top of the heat shield for the catalytic converter. Could *just* reach it without rolling under the vehicle, but was impossible to see from anywhere. Even when the shield was hot the wing-bolt and keys were only warm at most.

I moved it to the second Suburban, but left it there when I sold that one. I doubt the buyer ever found it.
 
<p>I think there are really three answers here; first you need back-up truck keys, secondly you need back-up camper keys and lastly you need keys to get back into you house.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>We never hike or run around camp with a wallet in our pocket so the wallet keys are out.</p>
<p>We both have a lanyard with truck &amp; camper keys on it and a house key.</p>
<p>I usually thread the lanyard through a belt loop on my shorts or Levi's during our stay and the wife keeps hers in her day-bag.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>There is always the risk that some bad guy will find your keys if you have a dog-tag on them but the cost of replacing some truck electric keys can get pricey so offering a &quot;REWARD IF FOUND&quot; is a good idea. The name, cell phone, email info is a great idea, but putting the truck license plate number may be an invitation to thieves.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Plenty of good ideas above on where to stash some keys to the truck and/or the camper. You just never know....</p>
 
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